More to Come

Besides the possible Guevara trade and the RSL shakeup, there is even more important MLS news on the way soon. It is not as dramatic as those other two items, but newsworthy nonetheless and interesting to all fans of the league. I HOPE to pass along more info today or tomorrow. Check back here regularly. (Sorry for the tease.)

A bit OT, but are there any reactions to Mark Fisher's opinion piece on Poplar Point (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/02/AR2007050202577.html), and the associated online discussion earlier today (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/05/02/DI2007050201864.html)?

Oi, DC United Stadium, talk to Mr. Chang. Let him know about ownership's strategic oversight in not having the team play in a library...did you see how quickly Pope Fenty made an appearance to bless the effort to rebuild in Georgetown?!? Then, BAM! 20 million without blinking an eye. Things get done and money is spent - sometimes...

got to love how he used avg. attendance numbers from the nats inaugural season to make his point that baseball deserves all the land it can get, hundreds of concessions, and $1 billion of taxpayer funding while conveniently forgetting to notice the nats nearly 10k drop in average attendance between 05 and 06 seasons.

Ignoring the facts to emphasize your point... now THAT is quality journalism!

Quoting anonymous above: Ignoring the facts to emphasize your point... now THAT is quality journalism!

As the Post ombudsman pointed out a few months ago, Fisher, et al, are "columnists" not "journalists" so he can skew statistics all he wants to make a point and to generate discussion. Our own Goffer, on the other hand, is a true journalist:-)

Goff - What is up with Fisher's axe grinding against soccer? The sarcastic article last summer for the German audiences (which was quickly pulled from wp.com following a landslide of negative comments) has envolved into routinely biased PP Stadium coverage. Diminishes his credibility in everything else that he pens - and indirectly the credibility of wp.com.

Go Penn State!- I just read the article and related discussion.
Marc chides soccer saying few people go to it and for that reason the stadium should be put far from the city center, yet he also says the stadium will help develop areas that need development. I see a flaw in logic there that makes me suspect his motives. I don't mean to imply something sinister, but perhaps his dislike of soccer is coloring his judgement.
One must always look critically at what questions a journalist chooses to respond to during a 'chat'. The format of the 'chat' allows him to select his opposition. so he can choose to respond to only the most illogical or radical of those who disagree with him thus making his point of view seem more logical. It is a terrible forum for a free exchange of ideas and should be treated as entertainment and nothing more...except when The Goffomatic is on the job.
Marc's decision to include the snarky question from the person going to the DCU game tonight on a date was unnecessary and immature.
The addition of a soccer only stadium will be a benefit to DC. It is to everyone's interest to put it in the best place possible and take into account all points of view. If the benefits of having the stadium on Park land outweigh the negative points of having it on park land, then lets put it on park land.

I also thought the argument that the planners of the city indended for that park to be there so we shouldn't build on it to be absurd. From what i remember, the planners of the city thought that the city should be 100 square miles and didn't intend for the VA section to be retroceded. Point being, original intent is irrevelant in this discussion.

For clarification, Poplar Point is not "park land" in the same sense that Rock Creek Park is "park land". Most folks involved in this dicussion couldn't tell you where Poplar Point is, how to get there, what to do when you get there, etc.

Galaxian, you have a point about attendance, but your stadium cost numbers are wrong. The Baseball stadium costs 667 million dollars. The city is paying for it ALL. The DC stadium will cost the city nothing but the transfer of land. So if you look at it as a cost per person thing, cost per attendee thing or revenue brought in thing, you will see that the soccer stadium is a no brainer.

I realize he's right about the math, and the total draw for Nats games kills DC's total attendance. To quote Ray Hudson, "a blind man on a horse could see (that)". I was just taking exception to his manipulative use of stats in this case, and that if he used more recent stats his point would be slightly weakened. I'd love to see the slump in attendance after this baseball season is through.

While avg. attendance doesn't mean all that much economically, it is a point of comparison when you are talking about a niche sport versus Americas alleged pastime.

"If you don't think that total attendence for 81 games vs total attendence for 15 games doesn't mean more $$$ than mean crowd figures for the relative teams... then you've got another think coming..."

Don't you have a funny little green and yellow wig to pick up from the dry cleaners? What, the LA Times doesn't have a soccer blog?

I think doode's point was that the attendance figures for the Nats are waay down from season one and going down and will until the doors open at brand new big shiny stadium. It's not really good journo stuff to abuse stats that way....but then this is the Post and he is an anointed columnist.

Mammoth baseball stadiums don't host many events other than baseball games and the occasional get together of aging bands like Police every other decade.

On the other hand, SSS's can host soccer games as well as concerts, tournaments, non-league games, etc. (weather permitting) through-out the year. I've seen the optimistic number thrown about by Uncle Phil's folks that SSS's can support up to 240 events per year... lending credence to the argument that SSS's contribute far more frequently than baseball stadia to local businesses.

"Don't you have a funny little green and yellow wig to pick up from the dry cleaners? "

Which one of you is the fat guy with the drum?

I love the HDC, though not necessarily the drive to Carson, and having two soccer teams makes it even more cost-effective, but Uncle Phil's "multi-stream" revenues are pies in the skies.

And thanks for the correction on the district's funding of the baseball stadium. Even with tax revenues, MLB is a money-loser for a city dumb enough to pay for a whole stadium out of pocket. I concede the point: if DC United can get the land for free and pay for all clean-up, infrastructure, maintenance, construction, and security costs itself, MLS is comparably a winner compared to the Nationals.

You have convinced me (though I'm all for 1000 soccer stadiums being constructed on the government dime, and 0 baseball stadiums, so I didn't need much convincing, but I'm speaking as a devil's advocate). I know I'm assuming that DC United will pick up basically every secondary cost, and I bet that's not true, so that has to be addressed. But what I'm saying is don't muddy the waters with the "average attendence" mumbo-jumbo. We're NOT going to be bigger than baseball in my lifetime, and you know it, but again, MLS can play up its relative value.

God, I don't want to get in this debate, or bring up the same cliches again and again, but... zzzz ...

'laxian... MLB has already slid behind the NFL and the NBA (or basketball itself, if not the league) in terms of 'hearts and minds' nationwide. Tell me the last time you saw a group of kids playing baseball, not including NY or Boston. How many teams that aren't the Sox, Cubs, Yankees, Mets, etc. are actually profitable? Baseball simply doesn't have the importance or standing it used to. Naturally, I have no idea how old you are or how long your lifetime could last. And not to be an 'aid-slurping soccer apologist (though god knows I am)... just saying that given the MLB-wide trend toward smaller parks and the booming immigrant population in this country, along with, 'sigh', the numbers of kids playing futbol, the demographics could shift evvver so slightly once our parents start dying (HURRY UP!!!). Horse racing and boxing were both wildly popular when the NFL was a 'niche sport'. Don't know that I believe it, I'm just saying...

I doubt it's Portland expansion. It's probably more like, Investor X has bought the rights to buy an expansion team in Portland IF he can get Portland taxpayers to build him a stadium within the next 2 years.